A tribute to a perfect 10

He gave all appearances of immortality, but sadly, an illustrious harness racing career and era came to an end on January 18, 2023, with the death of Presidential Ball (Cam Fella), just two months shy of his 33^rd birthday.

A stunning-looking individual, Presidential Ball would become only the third horse to earn $3 million. He leaves behind a distinguished race and stud career, and undoubtedly an indelible mark on modern harness racing.

But all of that was only a hope and dream on March 20, 1990, when on a farm in New Jersey a colt was born by one of the sport’s most famous sires, out of the tough and fast race mare of the 1980s, I Marilyn.

I Marilyn was racing predominantly on the Yonkers circuit and the half mile tracks of New York State in the early and mid-1980s.

She retired with a 1.55.4 record and over $500,000 in earnings. Many students of breeding would label her breeding as being out of left field.

I Marilyn was by a stallion called Mountain Skipper, who was a son of Dale Frost, as was Meadow Skipper, while her dam White Dawn, was a winner of $180,723, but by a little-known son of Volomite called White Mountain Boy.

The dam of Mountain Skipper was sired by an unknown horse called Bulldog , whose only claim to fame was as a full brother to the World Champion trotter Greyhound.

The Cam Fella/I Marilyn colt was entered in the 1991 Kentucky Standardbred Yearling Sale in Lexington.

As there were over 1000 yearlings nominated for these annual Yearling Sales, a conformation expert named Bart Glass was employed by the Sales Company to inspect all yearlings entered and Australian pedigree researcher Philip Trainor was employed by the Kentucky Standardbred Sales Company

“Bart Glass had been inspecting yearlings for around eight years up to 1991 and so must have seen over 8000 yearlings in his travels,” Trainor said.

“He had never scored a yearling on conformation and looks better than 9 out of 10 but I remember the day he called us in our Lexington office and declared he had seen his first perfect 10 yearling – that horse was the Cam Fella colt named Presidential Ball,” he said.

Presidential Ball was sold at that 1991 Kentucky Standardbred Sale for $75,000 to Tony Chiaravalle, from Toronto, Canada, who was about to get the ride of his life – $3 million in earnings in just two seasons of racing tells the whole story.

Presidential Ball was retired to stud in 1994 in the USA and then in 2000 commenced a shuttle Stallion career that resulted in him breeding mares in USA, New Zealand and Australia beginning his Southern Hemisphere breeding career at Alabar’s Farm at Pukekohe on the outskirts of Auckland, New Zealand.

This writer can recall seeing Presidential Ball at the Annual Alabar Stallion Parade in September 2000, on my way to Alabar’s New Zealand farm – and like everyone present I was left open mouthed by the appearance of this jaw dropping horse.  He was indeed a WOW horse.

He came to Australia in March 2009 to continue his career and was retired from service in 2015.

For the past seven or eight years, after being gelded, he became the best of mates with another Alabar icon in Village Jasper.  They lived together in the same paddock and were rarely seen more than five metres apart from each other.

What a glorious retirement for two Champions of our Industry and full credit to Alabar Bloodstock for caring for two grand gentlemen of our sport.

Race resume of Presidential Ball:

• Joined Nihilator and Artsplace the first $3million earners of the sport.
• 38 starts: 26 wins, 10 placings ($3,021,363), best winning time of 1.50.
• Voted both USTA two- and three-year-old Pacing Colt of the Year and in 1993.
• As a three-year-old, set a single season’s earnings record of $2,222,166.

Summary of the Breeding Career of Presidential Ball:

• Sire of winners of over $60 million in North America including three millionaires

• Cathedra Dot Com 1.51 $1,632,543
• Bigtime Ball 1.48.2 $1,625,073
• Allamerican Native 1.49.4 $1,499,977

Plus Washington VC 1.52,6  $560,984, who became a leading sire in New Zealand.

• First Australian foals in 2001 – 35 in total – and he was an instant hit with a Derby winning colt and three Stakes winning fillies in that debut crop;

• Emmas Only 1.57.1 $604,483
• Ball Gown 1.51 $534,675
• White Thunder 1.57.4 $344,717
• Lets Thank Heaven 1.52.8 $324,930

• Sired in total 232 winners in Australia, total stakes $13.384 million (Even in his final crop, bred when he was 24 years old, he sired Menangle winner El Aguila 1.52.7  $122,450).
• New Zealand progeny won $6.757 million.
• Worldwide progeny earnings exceeding $80 million.
• Broodmare Sire record: his daughters have left the winners of $23.772 million and counting.

Amazingly, and no doubt a pure coincidence,  the top five performers from Presidential Ball mares in the Southern Hemisphere were all bred in New Zealand but raced in Western Australia:

• My Hard Copy 1.51.6   $1,271,592
• Mighty Conqueror 1.53.9   $658,953
• Maczaffair   1.52   $632,953
• Runoneover   1.50.8   $625,869
• Rocknroll Lincoln 1.54 $507,588.

by John Coffey, for Harnesslink